That’s the headline over on Politics.co.uk:
Voters should support the Liberal Democrats in constituencies where Labour cannot win, Gordon Brown has indicated, further fuelling speculation that Labour expects to be unable to form a majority government after polling day.
In an exclusive interview with politics.co.uk the prime minister gave his strongest signal yet that voters should consider tactical voting in order to prevent the Conservatives forming the next government…
“I want everybody to vote Labour and I want people to vote for our party, and I want our vote to be the highest and I want our number of seats to be the highest.
“But if people don’t want a Conservative government then they must make sure they don’t allow the Conservatives in.”
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8 Comments
I don’t like tactical voting – I think it’s not democratic. But this election I will be doing exactly what you advocate above. I live in Eastbourne, where there are about 700 votes between the Tory MP and Liberal Democrat PPC.
Only way to go. He has been a pretty useless MP and is a mere mirror image of what a Conservative government would be like.
The thing that is lost on Brown and the press, is that not all Lib/Dems love Brown.
In a poll on here a few weeks back when asked if the Lib/Dems did not win the election, who would you like to see as PM.
I think it was about 60% Brown, and 40% Cameron.
We do not know where these 60 and 40% live, so it could be more of the 40% will live in a Labour/Tory area, and could vote for Cameron.
The big danger to the Lib/Dems is if the Lib/Dem voters give their vote away, the number then voting Lib/Dem will be low, and this does not encourage other votes to vote Lib/Dem in the next election.
I say if you are Lib/Dem then vote Lib/Dem, as this is the only way the party will grow.
Today we also have
“Labour begs for Lib Dem votes”
A senior Cabinet minister has declared that there are so few major policy differences between Labour and the Liberal Democrats that potential supporters of the third party should vote tactically in order to keep David Cameron out of Downing Street.
In a controversial intervention Lord Adonis raises the sensitive issue of tactical voting amid growing signs that Labour strategists regard a hung parliament as their only realistic hope of clinging to power after the general election.
You would not request this from a position of strenght, so it shows Labour are there for the taking.
The best cure for tactical voting is, of course, STV.
It’s technically possible to attempt vote manipulation strategies under STV, but requires an infeasible amount of information about people’s voting intentions and, for 4 or more candidates, computing a beneficial strategy is an NP-complete problem even with complete information and a large coalition of voters.
In Herefordshire Labour loses its deposit.
But if I am being told to vote LIb Dem mainly to keep Mr. Brown in power (After 13 years of the rule we’ve ‘enjoyed’ I’ll worry about the Conservatives next), the leadership of the party needs to have a wee think and be clear about how close it wants to keep its friends, or convenient temporary ally enemies.
Publicly.
The thought occurs is if the current Labour leadership deserves to be in government.
Serious question, what are the cons against a directly elected Executive leader?
Down here in the West Country we should hopefully rely on tactical voting. Lord Pearson has said tonight that they would not put up a candidate against a euro scep tory. In Wells we have a tory who is(the famous one of the horse manure) a tory scep. Pearson for UKIP is saying vote tactical, and the local party have said they are going to put up someone for UKIP. Lord Pearson has not told his workers his thoughts. This does not surprise me at all.
Tactical voting has become a virtual obligation for anyone who cares about the future economic recoveryc of this country.
In my view, voting tactically for Labour, however unattractive that may seem, will facilitate the ideal outcome, ie Labour coming second, just ahead of the Lib Dems.
If that were the result, Cameron, with a Lib-Lab government starting him in the face, would be forced (maybe unwillingly) to make a pact with the Lib Dems, even for a couple of years, thus putting in place a framework for them to work together on repairing the UK’s economy, first and foremost.
Whatever happens, this is a moment when the country’s needs, and our very survival, depends not only on who wins the election but what happens next.
Look at what has happened in the market as the prospect of a hung Parliamanet increased. The pound strengthened. The answer, my friends, lies with us!
shut up you torey rich asshole loving fuc**rs